The U.S. Pats. to Parkinson et al. No. 2.259,873 and Dean No. 3,201,744 discloses extremely thin plate-like electrical connecting devices having a pair of open jaws with opposed teeth. These connecting devices are applied to conductors by simply bending the jaws in their own planes relatively towards each other and in doing so plastically deforming the metal at the inner ends of the jaws so that they will remain in closed condition and in engagement with the conductor positioned between the jaws. These extremely thin plate-like connecting devices as disclosed in Dean and Parkinson et al are particularly adapted to be used on multi-conductor cables of the type having parallel spaced-apart conductors (either flat ribbon conductors or round wire conductors) contained within a flat sheet of insulating material.
The instant invention is directed to the achievement of improved flat plate-like connecting devices of the general type disclosed in the above-identified U.S. patents but having improved means for penetrating the insulation of the conductors and particularly for maintaining the closed jaws of the connecting devices in intimate contact with the conductors of the cable. The invention is further directed to the provision of improved multi-contact electrical connectors for flat multi-conductor cables and to apparatus for simultaneously applying a plurality of connecting devices to the individual conductors of a cable.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved connecting device for establishing an electrical connection with an elongated conductor, particularly a conductor in a flat cable such as a ribbon conductor or a round wire conductor in a flat cable. A further object is to provide a connecting device having closeable jaws for establishing electrical contact with a conductor and having improved means for maintaining a reliable electrical contact between the jaws and the conductor. A still further object is to provide a connecting device having closeable jaws and incorporating improved means for establishing electrical contact with the conductor during closure of the jaws. A still further object is to provide an improved multi-contact electrical connector for flat conductor cables having a plurality of parallel conductors arranged in a single plane. A still further object is to provide an improved apparatus for applying connecting devices to the conductors of a flat conductor cable.